


Pinky Promise

by sh_wright890



Series: JeanMarco Month 2k17 [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Childhood Friendship, From the generator, Hawaiian!Marco, M/M, Underwater Kiss, both of them are dorks, french!Jean, merman!jean, that thing is actually pretty great tbh, this gave me an excuse to search mermaid mythology
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-13 12:47:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11185443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sh_wright890/pseuds/sh_wright890
Summary: Jean and Marco have been friends since they met as children, and Marco sees him when he visits his grandparents every summer, but maybe this year will be different.





	Pinky Promise

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my day three prompt--late per usual. The original prompt was slightly different, but I hope this will suffice. This also was a bit of a challenge for me since I always write in Jean's point of view. 
> 
> Hopefully, I'll get the others up now that I have the schedule. Using Tumblr on mobile is a nightmare sometimes. I swear.
> 
> Comments are always appreciated!
> 
> \--Shelby

I was very young when I met my best friend in the ocean by my grandparents’ house. 

Every summer, my parents would take me and my older sister Ymir to France since Dad was born there, and he wanted us to be aware of our heritage. All summer we would spend at our grandparents’ house along the coast soaking up the sun and being pampered by our grand-mere.

Growing up, we were the cool kids that knew not just two but  _ three _ languages--English and Hawaiian since we lived in the Aloha state and French. Thankfully, we were never bullied for being diverse like in the cliche movies. 

When I was seven, I wandered down the rocks to dip my feet in the water. It was cold since summer had just begun, but the view was worth it. Ymir was also being a pest, and I wanted to get away from her, so there I was with my freckled feet in the deep blue ocean. 

There was a breeze, and I tipped my head back as I kicked the water up. The vastness of the sea wasn’t something I was afraid of then. It never occurred to me that there could be anything in the water. I simply enjoyed the clearness and smell of it.

Quietly, I began to sing “Gentil Coquelicot” as I swung my legs in time.

_ “When a nightingale landed on my hand _

_ When a nightingale landed on my hand _

_ It told me three words in Latin. _

 

_ Nice poppy, ladies _

_ Nice new poppy, _

_ Nice poppy, ladies _

_ Nice new poppy. _

 

_ It told me three words in Latin _

_ It told me three words in Latin _

_ That men are worthless. _

 

_ Nice poppy, ladies _

_ Nice new poppy, _

_ Nice poppy, ladies _

_ Nice new poppy. _

 

_ That men are worthless _

_ That men are worthless _

_ And boys are worth even less. _

 

_ Ni--” _

“Why are boys worth less?”

I shouted and jumped, nearly slipping off the ledge I was on. Staring at me from in the water was... a boy. Except he wasn’t wearing anything. Not that he needed to since starting below his bellybutton were fish scales that flashed in the dying sunlight. He peered at me curiously and looked slightly guilty. “I’m sorry scaring you,” he said in French.

“You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that!” I scolded as I pressed my hand to my chest. My heart was beating rapidly.

“I said I was sorry.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

I looked at him some more. Mom said not to talk to strangers, but I didn’t think she’d ever met a mermaid. Plus, he asked me a question, and it’d be rude not to answer him. 

“Boys aren’t worth less.”

He tilted his head. “Then why does the song say that?”

I shrugged. “I dunno. It just does.”

“Oh.” He leaned his forearms on the rock I was sitting on. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Marco. Who are you?”

“Jean.” He smiled. “I’ve never seen you here before.”

“I live in Hawaii.”

“Where’s that?”

“In the specific ocean.”

“Cool.” When he smiled, I could see a gap between some of his bottom teeth. “Wanna be friends?”

I smiled back. “Sure. But... how am I supposed to play with you?”

He looked behind himself and flicked his tail. “I have legs, but sometimes I grow a tail. My mom does it too but not Dad. I’m not supposed to tell anyone.” His eyes widened. “Can you keep a secret?”

I nodded solemnly and held my pinky. He stared at it with his eyebrows furrowed. “Do you not know what a pinky promise is?” I asked.

“No. What’s that?”

“Hold your hand out.” He did and extended his pinky to match mine. I hooked my pinky around his. “Now squeeze.” We both squeezed, and I let go. “That’s a pinky promise. You can’t break it.”

“What’ll happen if you do?” His eyes were wide again, and I thought that they were a really funny shade of brown.

“I dunno. Yumi says I’ll die.”

“Oh, no,” he breathed.

I nodded and put my feet back in the water. “I know. So I won’t tell anybody.”

We both looked behind me when we heard a shout that sounded like my mom. “Marco!” she yelled.

“Polo!” I called back. “I gotta go,” I said to Jean. “Do you want to play tomorrow?”

He smiled big. “Yeah.

With a final wave, I scrambled up the rocks, thrilled at the idea of getting to play with my new friend soon.

* * *

Fifteen summers later, I found myself sitting in the same spot. Every year since then I’d come to stay with my grandparents--even through college. They knew about Jean and adored him. My whole family knew, actually. As soon as Jean got his legs back I introduced him to them, and we spent most of the summer together. 

It was a particularly warm Saturday, so we spent our time by the water. We both swam--him much faster than me, obviously--and sat in the shade, talking about what happened when we were apart.

The summer I was here when I turned fifteen, he told me that his mother was Melusine. I had no idea who that was, so as soon as I was able I looked her up. Apparently, her father had convinced her other to marry him as long as she agreed to not be present when she gave birth or bathed her children, but he betrayed her, so when she gave birth to triplets, she took them away to Avalon.

When Melusine was fifteen, she asked why they were taken to Avalon. Her mother told this, and Melusine decided to exact revenge on their father by trapping him in a mountain. Her mother found out and cursed her to take the form of a serpent from the waist down every Saturday.

Melusine eventually got married under the condition that he never enter her chamber on a Saturday. Just as her father did, he betrayed her and saw her transform, but she forgave him. However, he called her a serpent during a dispute in front of his court, so she took the form of a dragon and flew away.

Jean told me that he personally thought the last part was extremely dramatic, but I always told him that she was an immortal being--she could do whatever the hell she wanted. 

Melusine had had tons of kids since then and was with several men at once. Jean said she was a good mother, though, since she visited all of them regularly. Most of the time it was just him and his dad. I’d even met him several times myself, and he seemed like a really nice guy. Still, I knew Jean got lonely when his dad was on business trips, so we spent tons of time together when I was visiting.

Blue light flashed off his iridescent scales as he lazily flicked his tail through the water. Just like his mother, Jean turned into a “serpent” from the waist down every Saturday. He didn’t mind it, but it was really challenging for him growing up while trying to hide it. 

“Whatcha thinkin’ about, Freckles?”

I blinked down at him. “You.”

His eyebrows twitched up. “Me?”

My already warm cheeks flushed more. “Yeah. How we met. Your mom. How much I like your tail.”

Now it was his turn to flush. “Dork.” He snorted and shook his head, droplets falling from his hair.

“You like it,” I replied with a lopsided grin. “I know you do.”

He smacked my leg. “Don’t be so gay.”

I laughed. Ever since I’d come out to him several years ago, he would try to point out particularly “gay” things to me that I did. It was harmless, and he meant no offense by it.

“Why? You obviously love the compliments.” I nudged his shoulder with my ankle.

He rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything else.

“You’ve got soft hair.” I reached out and ruffled it. “And your eyes are a super nice golden amber color. And you’re actually really kind even though you say you’re an asshole.”

He flushed even deeper and groaned. “Stooopppp.”

I rested my elbows on the knees of my crisscrossed legs. “Your skin is always clear. Like, seriously--how do you even do that?”

“Marco.”

“You’re really nice to talk to. You always listen, and you care about what I’m saying.”

“ _ Marco _ .”

“And your tail  _ is _ nice. No, not nice--beautiful. It’s strong and--”

I was cut off when Jean grabbed me by the front of my shirt and pulled me into the water. His hand fisted in my hair, and... and he was kissing me. I was so shocked that I almost sucked seawater into my lungs. 

We broke the surface, and I took a big breath. He looked at me like a deer in the headlights as we tread water. “I-I’m sorry.”

I blinked, comprehending what he’d said. “Sorry? Why are you sorry?”

A little crease formed between his eyebrows. “You... what?”

I reached out and hooked my arm around his neck, kissing him again with fervor, and his steady swimming stuttered for a moment before he wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me back just as hard.

That night as we swam and embraced long after his tail changed to legs I realized that somewhere along the way I’d fallen in love with my best friend. 

And I couldn’t be happier. 


End file.
